What Had Happened WasTrending stories on the intersections of race, sports & culture

Daily DoseBOSTON, MA – AUGUST 13: A vigil is held in support of peaceful anti-fascist protesters in Charlottesville, VA, in the wake of the violence after a white nationalist rally there, at the Boston Common on Aug. 13, 2017. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Daily Dose: 8/14/17

4:14 PMI just want to thank all the people I got to build and connect with at the 2017 National Association of Black Journalists convention last week. It was a great time, and doing the live ESPN Radio broadcast from the floor was fun. Speaking of which, I’m hosting from 10 a.m-1 p.m. every day this week.

President Trump finally denounced the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. It only took the better part of three days, after violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, following a rally of white nationalists. On the surface, that’s scary because it genuinely empowered groups like these, who believe they have the support of the highest leader in the land. From a global standpoint, it doesn’t look good, either, when your commander in chief would rather tweet than help the nation heal at a time of crisis.

Speaking of that violent situation, there’s a lot to unpack. The private militias protecting marchers. The guy who killed Heather Heyer by running over a group of people with his car. The tiki torches on the University of Virginia lawn being carried by a bunch of guys who have no real understanding of what discrimination really is. People love to say, “This isn’t the America I know.” Well, that’s not quite true. And one website is specifically outing the people who were at said rally, because they look pretty much like everyday people to the rest of us.

When the level of discourse gets ratcheted up, things can become testy. Such was the case at CNN on Monday, when Ken Cuccinelli, former attorney general of Virginia, decided he was legitimately going to tell another guest to shut up live on air. Unfortunately, that person was Symone Sanders, and she does not play that nonsense. To host Chris Cuomo’s credit, he put Ken in his place, but the entire exchange was indicative of the kind of back-and-forth that black women deal with every day of the week.

You can add Jermichael Finley to the list of non-woke athletes. The Green Bay Packers tight end came out with the worst take ever, tweeting that “athletes are looked up to & serve as roll models, leave personal opinions about race and politics alone. Do what you get paid to do & play!” His typo aside, it’s incredible to think that even after this weekend, we’ve got guys out here who find it inappropriate to discuss what happens when hate groups take over towns.

Free Food

Coffee Break: There’s been a lot of talk about the national anthem recently. But, to that point, none of us had heard Quavo sing it. I don’t even know what to say afterward, as I’m in shock about how good this actually is. I’d definitely stand for this version.

Daily Dose: 8/11/17

12:54 PMI have to say, this has been an incredible week. I’m loving New Orleans, and I got to see a live taping of Another Round, the podcast, which makes me extremely happy. NABJ is a good week if you’re in this business.

Remember when we talked about the impending doom of the world? When we worried about making sure we talked to all our old friends so they knew how much we loved them — just in case, you know, the world blows up because the president of the United States and the leader of North Korea are having a cucumber-measuring contest in their kitchens? It’s gotten so bad that credible people are genuinely suggesting that Twitter take away POTUS’s account. Until then, God help us all.

Hip-hop began on this day. At least, that’s when we celebrate. Back in 1973, the Bronx created the music that would legitimately make the world go ’round for the next 44 years and is still obviously going strong. It’s pretty remarkable when you think about it, as that’s not a particularly long time since Kool Herc decided to bless the globe with his talents. As a result, Google’s latest doodle is an homage to the art, and it’s got a super fun game involved too. Check out the history of how it came together.

If you want to know what is a bad idea, I’ll tell you: Making Nazi references in public places. And if you’re a media personality in a very prominent place, it’s definitely an easy way to lose a job. One guy learned this the hard way on Thursday. CNN decided to can Jeffrey Lord because in a Twitter back-and-forth (beware of those, kiddos) he legitimately used a Nazi salute. Dude then had the nerve to claim that the network was somehow caving to peer pressure by making that decision. That’s why they call it privilege, folks.

Leonard Fournette is a rookie. Leonard Fournette played at LSU. Leonard Fournette plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And Leonard Fournette thinks football is easy. Like, seriously. After the Jags’ preseason Week 1 victory over the New England Patriots, he straight-up said the NFL game is slower than he thought. Look, I don’t dislike this guy, but if he thinks that the first week out the gate on any level represents what big-time games are like, he needs some new friends. It’s the NFL. Dudes are going to be ready to destroy him based on that one quote alone. Good luck, homey.

Free Food

Coffee Break: Remember when we all thought that legalizing marijuana in places was going to lead to fewer arrests? Turns out, that’s not true. Want to know why? Because police officers love arresting black kids. In Colorado, arrests of black youth rose dramatically after things went legit. Shocker.

Snack Time: I’ve decided that my next international vacation is going to be to Japan. I also just might bring a skateboard along, because now we’ve got a guide on how to navigate Tokyo with a deck and four wheels.

What Are Those?!A detailed view of the Nike Foamposite One’s PRM “Blue Mirror” worn by Markieff Morris of the Washington Wizards against the Sacramento Kings during an NBA basketball game at Sleep Train Arena on March 30, 2016, in Sacramento, California.Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

What Are Those?! Podcast: 12/21/16

Foamposites, Stephon Marbury’s sneaker legacy and ranking the top kicks of all time

Undefeated senior writer Jesse Washington has been in these sneaker streets heavy lately, combining his poetic flair with his love for kicks in spoken-word video tributes to the Air Jordan I and Puma Clyde.

And what better way to end the episode — and the year of 2016 — than to rank our favorite sneakers of all time. Every day this week, ESPN’s #NBARank series has counted down the definitive top 30 list of all-time kicks. On Friday, the top five will be unveiled, but until then, Jesse, co-host Marcus Matthews and I each give you our personal top 10 lists.

Give it a listen, and if you have any feedback or show ideas, feel free to email us at allday@theundefeated.com.

Daily Dose: 8/10/17

1:37 PMSo, New Orleans is pretty wild, y’all. And on Wednesday, broadcasting The Right Time live from the National Association of Black Journalists convention floor was a really fun experience. I think I’m going to a baseball game on Thursday, so that makes me happy. Very happy.

So, this Guam situation is terrifying. Ever since President Donald Trump puffed his chest out and tough-talked North Korea regarding nuclear war, the situation has legitimately escalated. Guam, if you don’t know, is a United States territory with two military bases. It’s effectively an outpost designed to help control the Pacific, but of course, actual people live there. However, Kim Jong-un doesn’t care. He’s got a plan to launch rockets at the island, and no matter what, this will not end well.

Remember Diamond and Silk? The two black women who spent all sorts of time in their YouTube stardom caping for the president? Well, they basically sold their souls for an amount of money that, even if it pays your rent for three months, is not worth it. For $1,300 they touted the current president, even when the Trump campaign lied about it forever. Then they went to the U.S. Department of Commerce and had their picture taken and posted by the agency, only to have it removed. What a weird story.

I knew that MLB salaries were wild once they started reaching lottery jackpot numbers. But instead of having to handle 95 mph fastballs and even more exploding sliders, you can win hundreds of millions of dollars just by playing the numbers. What’s even more insane is that Mega Millions and Powerball are both above $350M, which means that if you win both, you’ll actually get that much money, instead of half, because of Uncle Sam. I have no clue what I’d do with that much money. That’s a lie. I’d buy an indoor soccer team.

Zach Randolph is the man in my book. But Z-Bo also had for some time been in Memphis, where his status as a cult hero, never mind an NBA star, is well-known. He takes no funny business, and if you got into a fight, Randolph is definitely someone you’d want on your side. But he recently got caught up on a weed charge in Los Angeles, which is an awful look for a dude who just got traded to Sacramento. Of course, he was all smiles coming out of the lockup, but his people apparently were super wilding and destroyed a couple of cop cars. Zach, get it together, fam.

Free Food

Coffee Break: I imagine that Kelly Rowland’s life is pretty dope. She probably makes all sorts of cash on old Destiny’s Child records and doesn’t have the pressure to produce all sorts of hits like, say, Beyoncé. Now she’s making new music, with Syd of The Internet of all people.

Snack Time: Boogie Cousins and Ndamukong Suh have pretty big reputations as players who pretty much don’t care about anything other than themselves. And this Foot Locker commercial pointing that out is hilarious.

Dessert: This will make your day. If it doesn’t, you should check to see if your cord’s unplugged.

Daily Dose: 8/9/17

11:25 AMI’m in New Orleans for #NABJ2017 and very excited about it. I’ll also be broadcasting #TheRightTime on ESPN Radio live 4-7 p.m. EST from the convention floor for the rest of the week, which should be interesting. Tune in!

It was nice knowing everyone during our time here on Earth. We had a decent run as a human race, but ultimately greed and power are what tore us down, to the surprise of exactly zero people. President Donald Trump and North Korea have been trading threatening remarks, which is always a great way to spark a slow news week. Seriously, though, this is terrifying. Guam is now involved, and if we’re being honest, if POTUS wants to send a nuke, there’s no one that can really stop him.

We love Maya Rudolph. Ever since her days on Saturday Night Live, in which she was basically the only woman of color and thus forced to play nearly every parody role involving such, she’s been great. Since then, her career on-screen hasn’t exactly been fireworks, but certainly steady. Now she’s headed back to the live stage, which is exciting. She’ll be starring in Fox’s live version of A Christmas Story. Maybe it’s because I think this live musical format is really getting good, or because I just miss Maya, but I’m really excited for this.

If you had plans for the next year and a half, you might want to cancel them. Because in the past week, Donald Glover has revealed that not only does he have new music coming out, but he and the squad are also basically done with Season 2 of Atlanta,which is excellent news. He’s retired the Childish Gambino name, but that’s doesn’t mean it’s already gone. His legendary hot streak of fire content doesn’t appear to be letting up, so you can go ahead and clear him a space on the Hollywood Walk of Fame right now.

Unlike baseball, you don’t see a whole lot of left-handed throwers in football. On the rare occasion that you do, they’re typically pretty stellar. I can’t remember the last average southpaw I saw on the gridiron, Tim Tebow notwithstanding. Mark Brunell was a good one, Boomer Esiason was a better one and Michael Vick was certainly my favorite of all the lefties who played QB in the NFL. But last year, only one left-hander threw a touchdown pass in the league, leading to the question: Are lefty QBs going extinct?

Free Food

Coffee Break: A good bromance can be rather fruitful. And in the case of A$AP Rocky and Tyler the Creator, it’s been concerts and all sorts of things to come from it. But it wasn’t always that way, and the two titans of the coasts are now maturing to the next level in a refreshing way.